Bluegill Bonanza Fishing the Caddis

I had my phone set for 5 AM Tuesday to make my first bluegill fishing trip on SmithLake this year. After eating a bowl of cheerios, oatmeal and some fruit I made it out the door. Tuesday’s forecast was cloudy skies and chance of rain in the afternoon and through the night; my kind of forecast fishing before a front.

My plan was to search and find bluegill spawning in as many sloughs as I could before the heat and humidity force me to leave. My first slough had numerous gills and one redeye native bass but not the big bulls I was searching for. The bass and female gills were killing the Caddis!!!

After fishing through five more sloughs I finally made a connection on my 7th slough. Three of kind here using the Foam Butt Caddis; my five weight was the perfect combo to land these bulls.

Unreal fight put forth by this gill, which left a few fibers of the Caddis sticking out of its mouth. During the spawn the male bluegill will attack anything that comes close to the beds.This bluegill was spawning in super clear water 11 ft. deep. It is unusual to find anymore than 5 or 6 bluegills spawning in the back of any of the sloughs on Smith. With over 500 miles of shoreline the fish are spread thin.﻿

I continued to fish the back of nooks that I thought bluegills would spawn in. I seldom find them in the same sloughs year after year spawning. All the fish I found today were in new spawning waters. A lot of fish brought to hand today with these five worthy of the quest and the frying pan. I’m now 18 away from the finish!

I had my phone set for 5 AM Tuesday to make my first bluegill fishing trip on SmithLake this year. After eating a bowl of cheerios, oatmeal and some fruit I made it out the door. Tuesday’s forecast was cloudy skies and chance of rain in the afternoon and through the night; my kind of forecast fishing before a front.

My plan was to search and find bluegill spawning in as many sloughs as I could before the heat and humidity force me to leave. My first slough had numerous gills and one redeye native bass but not the big bulls I was searching for. The bass and female gills were killing the Caddis!!!

After fishing through five more sloughs I finally made a connection on my 7th slough. Three of kind here using the Foam Butt Caddis; my five weight was the perfect combo to land these bulls.

Unreal fight put forth by this gill, which left a few fibers of the Caddis sticking out of its mouth. During the spawn the male bluegill will attack anything that comes close to the beds.This bluegill was spawning in super clear water 11 ft. deep. It is unusual to find anymore than 5 or 6 bluegills spawning in the back of any of the sloughs on Smith. With over 500 miles of shoreline the fish are spread thin.﻿

I continued to fish the back of nooks that I thought bluegills would spawn in. I seldom find them in the same sloughs year after year spawning. All the fish I found today were in new spawning waters. A lot of fish brought to hand today with these five worthy of the quest and the frying pan. I'm now 18 away from the finish!